Shloka 14
Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament for Karṇa and Renunciation-Oriented Self-Assessment (शोक-प्रलापः / त्याग-प्रवृत्तिः)
उपवासैस्तथेज्याभिव्रतकौतुकमड़लै: । लभन्ते मातरो गर्भान् मासान् दश च बिशभ्रति
yudhiṣṭhira uvāca | upavāsais tathejābhir vratakautukamaṅgalaiḥ | labhante mātaro garbhān māsān daśa ca bibhrati | iha cāmutra caiveti kṛpaṇāḥ phalahetavaḥ |
ユディシュティラは言った。「断食と供犠と誓戒と吉祥の儀礼と祝祭の作法によって、母たちは懐妊を求める。そして十か月のあいだ胎を宿し、養い支える。『この世でも、かの世でも』と念じつつ、哀れな女たちは果報を望んで行ずるのだ――子が無事に生まれ、生き永らえ、強く育ち、善き徳を具えるなら、今生と来世において自分たちに安楽をもたらすであろう、と。」
युधिछिर उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how even intimate, nurturing acts (pregnancy and child-rearing) are often intertwined with expectation of ‘fruit’—benefit in this world and the next—thus pointing to the ethical tension between selfless care and result-driven motivation (phala-āśā).
Yudhiṣṭhira reflects on mothers performing religious disciplines—fasts, sacrifices, vows, and auspicious rites—to obtain and protect a child, then bearing the pregnancy for ten months, motivated by the hope that a virtuous, strong child will secure happiness for them both here and hereafter.